ReadNG

Every Book, Readable

The goal of this project is simple: to encourage
reading of ebooks.

By making ebooks pretty and hosting thousands of
titles, we'll build a community of readers.

Most ebooks are unreadable

Writers and publishers have many options when
choosing a format for electronic book production. Many formats are tied
to particular electronic devices or programs, which might be sold or
given away. The programs might protect the intellectual property rights
of the publisher, or they might enforce loyalty to a particular hardware
manufacturer. A few formats have been chosen to allow any reader on any
current (or future) computer to access the ebook.

Anyone who has tried to read an ebook has their own
grumbles. Ebooks can be incompatible with new hardware or software. Some
software restricts printing, and can send information about reading
habits back to the publisher. Electronic devices can be expensive,
easily damaged, tempting for thieves and have a short battery
life. Ebooks are often unavailable to international users because of
legal issues.

Some 'open ebook formats' have been designed to run
on future computers, which is an insurance against obsolescence, but
these formats often produce ugly results. It is no wonder that most
readers say they prefer the look and feel of paper and ink.

So what is this about?

Every ebook format has its champions, and debates
over 'which format is best' can become inflamed. We're going to inflame
the debate some more by saying we believe that books should be readable,
and any format that is hard to read isn't worth the effort. We simply
want to produce beautiful pages of text that most users will enjoy
reading. People like reading books, and so we make our ebooks look like
nice books, not computer programs.

ReadNG is a company for people to read and share
books worldwide through a Web experience. Everyone can read books on
ReadNG - both at ReadNG.com and on their own PC. As more people upload
their favourite books, ReadNG is empowering them to become the
publishers of tomorrow.

Some of the site's features include:

Reading lists, which let users insert their favourite books into
MySpace accounts, blogs, or other Web sites where anyone can read
them

Public or private books - users can elect to publish their books
publicly or share them privately with friends and family upon
upload

Subscriptions allow users to keep track of their favorite users'
new books

By registering, users are able to upload and share
books, save bookmarks, create reading lists, and comment on the
books. ReadNG is building a community that is highly motivated to read
and share books. The ReadNG service is free and will be supported by
advertising.

As a seed to encourage early users, we will upload
the entire Project Gutenberg collection of ebooks, comprising over
19,000 titles:

Participation

We're currently looking for sponsors. Soon, we'll
run out of both bandwidth and webspace, and we would welcome any
enquiries from wealthy benefactors.

If you haven't got any spare cash, you can still
help. We need a graphic designer or typographer to produce a double-page
spread that will fit within a browser window (screen resolution
1024x768, 16-bit). Use any fonts and design tricks you need - we'll
figure out how to reproduce it later. We'd also be pleased to find a web
designer with Ajax skills. Sorry, we cannot pay anyone for their
contributions.

Benefits

Why participate? For recognition, inspiration, and a
resource we can all use. We're aiming to become the new Library of
Alexandria, a place where the great works of literature are read,
discussed and loved by generations of book devotees. By helping now, you
could be part of a historic project.